Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate was left delighted when PSG and France superstar Ousmane Dembele revealed he was a fan of the Reds thanks to Steven Gerrard.
Konate and Dembele faced each other in the Champions League earlier this season, with Liverpool ultimately exiting on penalties in the quarter-final stage to the Ligue 1 side that has since reached the final. But the pair play alongside one other at international level.
And in a video filmed when the pair were linking up with the French national team — presumably in the last international break, back in March — Dembele revealed his admiration for the Reds. The camera then panned to Konate, who loudly exclaimed, “Tres bien!”.
“It’s Ousmane Dembele and I’m going to tell you my three favorite players,” Dembele says on a video released by the French national team on Instagram yesterday.
“Number one is Lionel Messi. I’m a fan of Barcelona, so Lionel Messi is a big legend. In number two, David Beckham, this is the first football jersey that I got. In number three, Steven Gerrard. I was a fan of Liverpool.”
Earlier this week, former Liverpool striker Dean Saunders suggested that the Reds should replace Darwin Nunez with Dembele in the transfer market this summer, though that would be an extremely unlikely move. Dembele has been in sensational form for PSG and the French giant will not want to lose him.
(Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
“Liverpool need to find a striker this summer who works as hard as Darwin Nunez but scores significantly more goals,” Saunders told Casino Reviews.
“The striker of this hard-working Liverpool side is the first line of defense that chases down center-backs and goalkeepers. They need to sign someone who is happy to put that kind of work in.
“They need a striker who can find the net, but his attitude must be top drawer. Liverpool won’t carry anyone out of possession, the whole team works too hard for that.
“You look at other teams such as Man United, who have struggled this year. They carry a few players which disrupts the whole team and leads to inconsistent results.
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“I would like to see them sign Ousmane Dembele. He is as hard-working as any striker I have watched this season, and he certainly knows where the net is.
“He was brilliant against Liverpool in the Champions League, so I’m surprised there haven’t been more rumors of this move. Dembele is a class act and PSG don’t play too dissimilarly to Liverpool, so I think he would be a great fit.”
Liverpool.com says: Dembele is indeed an excellent player and he would be great for any team in the form he has shown this season. He is 28, though, and PSG won’t be selling him!